HERMITS AND HUSTLERS
From Giuseppe Tucci's diary 1934-1935
Of the events and outcomes of the journey through one of the most inhospitable and rugged lands of Asia, it is recounted in this humble diary. Its aim is to recall the most remarkable things of every visited place and to serve as a guide for those fortunate travelers who shall have the opportunity to follow my footsteps and complete my research.
I would like to add that my travel diary is not just a quest for the past, a discovery of vanished civilizations, or a reconstruction of ancient events. It is also, and perhaps above all, a document of cultures that are evolving.
When solitude-seekers, whether by choice or circumstance, are compelled to adjust to new economic and social environments, their secluded retreats abandoned and modern communication avenues bridging distant realms, esotericism will enter a dormant phase, and both hermits and hustlers will encounter a process of transformation.